What Is DIR-3 KYC Web?
DIR-3 KYC Web is the director KYC intimation that every person holding a Director Identification Number (DIN) must file with the Central Government, confirming that the personal details on record — name, date of birth, nationality, personal mobile number, personal email, addresses and identity proof — are current. Since 31 March 2026 it is a three-yearly filing due on 30 June, not an annual one due on 30 September, and there is now only one form for it: Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web. A DIN holder who misses the deadline has the DIN deactivated for non-filing, and pays Rs. 5,000 to have it restored.
The obligation is not limited to directors of Indian companies, and it is not optional. Anyone who has ever been allotted a DIN — including a foreign national serving as director or resident director of an Indian subsidiary, a director who has since resigned, or one whose company has been struck off — has to keep intimating KYC for as long as the DIN itself exists, unless it is formally surrendered.
Legal Basis
Rule 12A as substituted from 31 March 2026
The requirement comes from Rule 12A of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014, which was replaced in full by the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025, notified as G.S.R. 943(E) dated 31 December 2025 (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), CG-DL-E-31122025-268970) and in force from 31 March 2026. The substituted rule reads in full:
"12A. Directors KYC and updation thereof.— (1) Every individual who holds a Director Identification Number as on the 31st March of a financial year, shall file KYC intimation in Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web to the Central Government on or before the 30th June of the immediately following every third consecutive financial year."
"(2) Every individual holding a Director Identification Number shall, in the event of change in his personal mobile number, email address or residential address, submit Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web within a period of thirty days of such change along with fee as provided under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014."
Two things follow from that text. The routine KYC intimation is now due once every three financial years rather than every year, and a change in mobile number, email address or residential address triggers a separate 30-day filing obligation that runs independently of the three-yearly cycle.
History
Until 31 March 2026 Rule 12A ran an annual cycle — a person holding a DIN as on 31 March filed KYC by 30 September of the immediately following financial year, using either eForm DIR-3 KYC or the DIR-3 KYC-WEB service — and the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) (Amendment) Rules, 2024 dated 16 July 2024 charged Rs. 500 for a second update of mobile number or email within the same financial year.
One Form Now Does Everything
The same amendment substituted the Annexure forms: in place of "DIR-3-KYC and DIR-3- KYC-WEB", a single Form No. DIR-3-KYC-Web is prescribed, titled "Intimation of Changes or Reactivation of DIN" and filed pursuant to rules 11 and 12A. The DSC-signed eForm DIR-3 KYC no longer exists. First-time filers, cycle filers, directors updating a detail and directors reactivating a deactivated DIN all use the same web form, choosing from its purpose options:
- Reactivation of DIN
- KYC compliance
- Update of Mobile Number
- Update of Email ID
- Update of permanent residential address
- Update of Present residential address
Being a web form does not make it a self-service confirmation. The prescribed form still carries two digital signature boxes — one "To be digitally signed by DIN holder" and one for a certificate by a practising professional, a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant or Company Secretary in whole-time practice, certifying that the particulars were verified against original or certified records. It also separates "Existing Mobile number and Email ID" from "Updated Mobile number and Email ID", with a separate OTP sent to and verified for each mobile number and each email address. MCA requires the number and inbox to belong to the DIN holder personally, not the company, and not to be shared with another director.
When It Is Due
Rule 12A(1) sets the date as 30 June of the immediately following every third consecutive financial year, measured against holding a DIN as on 31 March of a financial year. What the rule text does not do is identify which financial year starts the count, and MCA has published no clarification resolving it. Your next due date therefore depends on which cycle your DIN falls into, and it must be confirmed on the MCA portal before you rely on it.
For what it is worth, the Press Information Bureau release of 1 January 2026 announcing the change (PRID 2210552) stated that directors who were already KYC-compliant would next file by 30 June 2028. That is PIB's description of the reform, not the language of the rule, and it does not bind the Registrar — treat it as an indication and verify the date shown against your own DIN.
Changes of Mobile, Email or Address — 30 Days
Rule 12A(2) is a standing obligation, not part of the cycle. Any change in the DIN holder's personal mobile number, email address or residential address must be intimated in Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web within thirty days of the change, with the prescribed fee. There is no cap on how many such filings a cycle can require: three moves in three years means three filings. Filing a change intimation also does not discharge the three-yearly KYC intimation under Rule 12A(1), and vice versa.
Fees
Fees are set by the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Amendment Rules, 2026, notified as G.S.R. 300(E) dated 21 April 2026:
- Nil — KYC intimation filed within the timeline in Rule 12A(1).
- Rs. 5,000 — KYC intimation filed after that timeline, and reactivation of a DIN deactivated for non-filing.
- Rs. 500 — each filing made under Rule 12A(2) to record a change of personal mobile number, email address or residential address.
The Rs. 500 change fee replaces the 2024 position, under which Rs. 500 was payable only for a second update of mobile number or email inside the same financial year. Under the current rules every change filing carries the fee.
Documents and Information Needed
The prescribed form asks for the DIN and name (both mandatory), the DIN holder's full name without abbreviations, nationality, date of birth, Income-tax PAN with an in-form "Verify Income Tax PAN" step, passport number, the existing and updated personal mobile number and email ID with OTP verification of each, the permanent residential address including a yes/no on whether the permanent address is outside India, the present residential address, and residential proof. The form lists the acceptable proof as "Voters Identity Card/ Passport/Driving License/Aadhaar/Bank Statement/Utility Bill". Attachments are a proof of change in particulars and optional further attachments, each capped at 2 MB.
Aadhaar is required where the DIN holder has been assigned one; where there is none, a Voter ID, passport or driving licence serves as identity proof. PAN is mandatory for citizens of India. A foreign national director, who typically has neither Aadhaar nor PAN, relies on the passport instead — and should check one recurring rejection cause before filing: the name printed on the Digital Signature Certificate used to sign the form must match the name entered in the form. That is easy to get wrong when a DSC was issued against a passport spelling that differs slightly from the spelling used elsewhere in the filing.
What Happens If You Miss It
A DIN that has not been intimated within the stipulated time is deactivated under Rule 11(2) by the Central Government or the Regional Director, Northern Region Directorate I (the same amendment renamed that authority, which was previously described as Regional Director (Northern Region), Noida). Rule 11(3), as amended, provides that a deactivated DIN is reactivated "only after Form No. DIR-3-KYC-Web is filed" along with the fee prescribed under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 — Rs. 5,000. Reactivation is not automatic and does not happen with the passage of time.
While a DIN is deactivated it cannot be used to digitally sign or file forms with the Registrar of Companies. The form itself also carries a warning that the DIN holder and the certifying professional are liable under section 448 of the Companies Act, 2013, and under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, for false statements in the filing.
Why DIR-3 KYC Web Matters for a Foreign Company or Investor
For a foreign company setting up in India — through a wholly owned subsidiary, a joint venture, or a branch or liaison structure — this filing is easy to overlook precisely because it attaches to the individual director, not the company, and has nothing to do with the company's own annual filings such as the Annual Return (MGT-7). MCA tracks it against the DIN, so a parent that appoints an overseas nominee director, or hires a local resident director, is responsible for making sure each of those individuals files — including a director who sat on the board briefly and left without surrendering the DIN.
The move to a three-year cycle cuts the paperwork but makes the deadline far easier to forget, since it no longer recurs on a familiar annual date and no longer coincides with the company's own compliance calendar. The 30-day change rule cuts the other way and is the more likely trap for a cross-border board: expatriate directors relocate, change local mobile numbers and change residential addresses far more often than Indian resident directors do, and each of those events now starts a 30-day clock and costs Rs. 500.
Practical Example
An Indian subsidiary of a foreign parent has three directors: an Indian resident director, a nominee director based overseas, and the subsidiary's CEO, who holds a foreign passport. All three hold DINs, so each must file the KYC intimation in Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web by the 30 June that closes their cycle, at no fee — the company's secretarial team confirms the applicable due date for each DIN on the MCA portal rather than assuming a common date. The resident director has Aadhaar and PAN on record; the two foreign directors have neither, so their identity proof is the passport, and each files with a DSC whose name matches the form exactly. In July, the CEO relocates from Mumbai to Singapore. That change of residential address is a separate obligation under Rule 12A(2): the CEO files Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web again within thirty days, with proof of the change and a Rs. 500 fee, and that filing does not substitute for the three-yearly intimation. If any of the three misses their cycle deadline, only that person's DIN is deactivated — the other two are unaffected — but that director cannot sign MCA filings until the form is filed with the Rs. 5,000 fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DIR-3 KYC still due every 30 September?
No. Rule 12A was substituted with effect from 31 March 2026 by G.S.R. 943(E). The annual 30 September cycle is gone. The KYC intimation is now filed in Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web "on or before the 30th June of the immediately following every third consecutive financial year".
When exactly is my next filing due?
That depends on which cycle your DIN falls into, and the rule text does not fix the first cycle's due date. MCA has published no clarification on the point, so confirm the date applicable to your DIN on the MCA portal before relying on it. The Press Information Bureau release of 1 January 2026 (PRID 2210552) said directors who were already compliant would next file by 30 June 2028, but that is PIB's statement about the reform rather than the rule itself.
What happened to eForm DIR-3 KYC?
It was abolished. The 2025 amendment substituted a single Form No. DIR-3-KYC-Web for both the old eForm DIR-3 KYC and the old DIR-3 KYC-WEB service. First-time filers, routine cycle filers, directors updating a detail and directors reactivating a DIN now all use the same web form, which is still digitally signed by the DIN holder and certified by a practising CA, CS or Cost Accountant.
I changed my phone number. Do I have to file something?
Yes. Under Rule 12A(2), a change in your personal mobile number, email address or residential address must be intimated in Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web within thirty days of the change, with a Rs. 500 fee per filing. The old rule that allowed one free mid-year update no longer applies.
What happens if I miss the deadline?
The DIN is deactivated for non-filing and cannot be used to sign company filings. Rule 11(3) provides that it is reactivated only after Form No. DIR-3-KYC-Web is filed with the prescribed fee, which is Rs. 5,000. There is no way to reactivate the DIN without filing.
Does a foreign national director need a PAN to file?
No. PAN is mandatory for citizens of India. A foreign national director who has neither Aadhaar nor PAN attaches a passport (or Voter ID or driving licence, where held) as identity proof, and must make sure the name on the Digital Signature Certificate matches the name entered in the form.
I hold two DINs by mistake. How do I file?
You cannot file KYC against two DINs held by the same person. File Form DIR-5 first to surrender the later DIN and retain the oldest one, then file Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web against the DIN you keep. Filing KYC without first sorting out the duplicate does not resolve the underlying problem.
Does a disqualified director still have to file?
Yes. Rule 12A(1) attaches the obligation to every individual who holds a Director Identification Number as on 31 March of a financial year, with no carve-out for disqualification under the Companies Act.
See also: Director Identification Number, Digital Signature Certificate, and Resident Director.